Thief threatens girl, punches her in face and takes off with her dog

Thief threatens girl, punches her in face and takes off with her dog »Play Video
EVERETT, Wash. -- Shelly Stevens cannot understand it.

"I was shocked. I don't know, I was shocked," said she said.

Stevens' 9-year-old daughter, Lenore Lashbaugh, took their dog outside for a potty break around 5:15 p.m. In the apartment complex parking lot, another girl - maybe 11 or 12 - made a violent move.

"She threatened to punch me if I screamed. And I screamed, and she punched me," Lashbaugh said.

The other girl took off with Lexy, the family's beloved miniature Schnauzer. But before she took off, she reportedly use a weapon against Lashbaugh.

"She pulled a knife out and swung it at her," Stevens said. "Luckily, she got out of the way. I could have lost more than a dog."

Lashbaugh is baffled by the aggression she ran into.

"Right in the middle of it, she said it was her dog. But we've had that dog ever since it was a puppy," the girl said.

The mother and daughter just moved into their apartment just a few weeks ago. Stevens says they've been through some difficult times, including being homeless.

Lexy had been with them through those rough patches, and now she's gone.

"Yeah, it's been a very tough road," Stevens said. "Poor kid's been through so much, it's heartbreaking."

Lexy had not been micro-chipped, but her owners hope she's still nearby. Her kennel now sits empty, but her owners hope they haven't lost their dog forever.

"I keep expecting her to come around a corner. You expect to see your dog," Stevens said. "It's going to be terrible. She sleeps with me every night."

The mother and daughter planned to set out on a search for their pooch come Thanksgiving morning.